They didn't stop running until they reached Rhea's car.
Zoe looked out the rear window. "Damn, Rhea. That boy's even hotter than you described. No wonder you disappeared for ten days."
Rhea stayed silent, lost in thought.
Did he model in Japan now? Made sense. A guy like him would be a goldmine in clubs like that.
Before they could drive off, someone knocked on the window.
Lucas.
Cigarette between his lips, shirt half-unbuttoned, shadows clinging to his sharp collarbones. That same black gemstone pendant glinting in the streetlight.
More grown now. More dangerous.
His eyes pinned her like he could see through her.
Zoe, betraying her bestie instantly, rolled down the window.
"Hi there, handsome!"
Rhea glared at her. She could feel Lucas's gaze burning into the back of her skull.
Zoe whispered, "Be brave, Rhea. Face your fears."
Lucas leaned down.
"Why do you keep running?"
His voice was low, lazy, with a streetwise charm.
His hand, still bleeding from the glass, clenched tight.
Rhea turned to face him.
"I'm not running."
They were nothing more than a brief fling. A summer fantasy.
She gave him company; he gave her... physical stress.
No one owed anything.
And yet for three years, she'd lived with the shadow of what they'd done. The trauma.
"Seems like your... career's going well," she said lightly. "Congrats."
He smiled, slow and amused.
"Why did you leave without a word?"
She didn't answer.
He repeated, more quietly, "Was it because I wasn't good enough?"
Rhea almost laughed.
Did he not know what he did to her? Her body still flinched at the memories.
She tossed her hair back, voice lazy and flirty.
"It was a vacation. Vacations end. I went home."
Total player energy.
Lucas studied her face.
She held his gaze, calm as ever. She asked if he had his phone.
He handed it over.
She found his payment app and transferred him 100,000 Yen.
"Don't hang around places like this. Not good for your health."
But then she saw his phone wallpaper.
Her.
Lying on a bed, bare shoulder peeking out from a loose white shirt. Her hair spilled down her back. Her skin glowed. Red marks littered her butterfly-smooth shoulder blades.
Rhea's face darkened.
"Delete that."
Lucas, seeing her anger, immediately leaned in, kissed the corner of her mouth.
"Don't be mad. That photo kept me alive for three years."
Zoe from the driver's seat: "I AM RIGHT HERE?!"
Rhea, panicked, bit him.
He flinched. His lip bled.
She threw his phone at his chest.
"Lucas DeWitt."
"Don't ever do that again."